5th grade teacher eats lunch with his students in cafeteria every day: ‘The little things do matter’

PAW PAW, Mich. - Dan Shutes, a fifth grade teacher in Paw Paw, Michigan, recently went viral on social media after he revealed he eats lunch daily in the school’s cafeteria with his students. 

It’s a tradition that Shutes, who has been teaching full-time for nine years, said he just started doing "on a whim" a couple of years ago. 

"It just turned into something that I really enjoy," the 32-year-old told FOX TV Stations. "The kids enjoy it. I enjoy it. The kids will ask me ahead of time, ‘Hey, can you sit with me tomorrow?’"

During lunch, Shutes said his class is split between three different tables. Each day, he sits with different students and said the routine has taught him to have a better connection with his kids.

"I don't want to just be viewed as the talking head at the front of the room that is the guy giving them homework and assignments," he shared. "While that's obviously part of my job, I want to hopefully connect with somebody or a group of kids in a way that they can come to me with problems or concerns and are okay having conversations outside of the realm of the lesson plan."

He continued: "I think sometimes these conversations have helped me get to know the kids in a way where I know some that might need, based on these conversations in the cafeteria, a big brother figure or a father figure." 

Dan Shutes is a fifth grade teacher in Paw Paw, Michigan. (Credit: Dan Shutes)

As of Tuesday, Shutes’ video on TikTok explaining his lunchtime routine exceeded more than 500,000 views and had over 2,000 comments. 

"I didn't expect it to go viral like it did," Shutes continued. "I've gotten some emails from teachers around the country just saying they appreciated the message. I saw one teacher say that she was going to try to give it a try with her class one time a week. So that's great. I think that's why I do it. It's just to try and motivate and inspire other teachers." 

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Despite the struggles that many educators have faced in recent years, including an increase in burnout and dissatisfaction with the teaching profession, he said his message for teachers is to "not take the little things for granted." 

Dan Shutes shared that he eats lunch daily in the cafeteria with his students. (Credit: Dan Shutes)

"Eating lunch in the cafeteria with my kids has proven to me that the little things do matter, and they pay attention to those little things," he said, adding. "Those little conversations and connections you can have with the kid can really turn somebody's day around and turn somebody’s school year around. So yeah, teachers don't take those little things for granted."